The butterflies now surround a photo of the beloved pastor displayed in the ministry's window at 54 S. Division Ave.

Later, they will be sewn into a quilt to be draped over the coffins of Heartside neighbors.

The Rev. Charlotte Ellison, Pekich's successor as executive director, sees deep symbolism in these butterflies so full of life and hope.

"This community needs something that's a powerful symbol of the Resurrection," Ellison said on one of her first days at Heartside.

Helping Heartside neighbors grieve Pekich's death Dec. 29 from cancer is a top priority for Ellison, who officially began this week.

The Rev. Barb Pekich

Pekich's passing marks a sad moment in the life of a community she helped build, Ellison said.

"This is a living organism," Ellison said of Heartside Ministry, which includes a chapel named for Pekich just before her death. "What Barb did was to seed it and to nurture it. I think she really lived out that gentle, protecting character of God."

Ellison aims to continue that spirit as she guides the 25-year-old ministry into its next phase. Founded in 1983, Heartside offers a variety of services to the poor and homeless such as counseling, support groups, computer training and art classes.

"We're trying to release the power of grace by exemplifying it," said Ellison, a minister in the Reformed Church in America, as was Pekich.

The longtime hospice chaplain and former pastor has the right combination of compassion and leadership for the job, says the Rev. Valerie Ambrose, a Heartside board member.

"Char possesses skills that are both appropriate as pastor and preacher as well as administrator," Ambrose said. "I think she'll be welcomed and embraced."

The Rev. James Schuen agrees. The Heartside outreach pastor has known Ellison since seminary. He believes residents will embrace her even as they grieve Pekich.

"Char is a lover of people, and she's a lover of social justice issues," Schuen said. "It fits perfect with the mission of Heartside."

Activities: President, Classis North Grand Rapids of Reformed Church in America; founding chairwoman of WITNESS, a nonprofit promoting women's leadership in churches

Ellison earned a master's of pastoral care and ethics at Western Theological Seminary, where she studied with Pekich. They knew each other well as fellow RCA ministers. Ellison advised Pekich to seek specialized treatment when she was experiencing symptoms over the past year.

Pekich rarely came to Heartside over the past six months. When it became clear she could not continue as director, the board sought a successor.

Ellison was appointed Dec. 10.

She comes as one well acquainted with grieving. Since 2002, Ellison worked as a hospice chaplain in Southwest Michigan and, before that, was a chaplain at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.

A former Holland resident now living in Battle Creek, Ellison said she felt for some time she was being called to other work.

"It was real clear in my spirit I was supposed to get back to Grand Rapids," she said.

She takes over an agency with a staff of seven and a budget of about $400,000 as new victims of the recession are showing up for help.

"There are a whole bunch of people new to the experience of being homeless," Ellison said. "It's going to be critical Heartside be able to project its worth and value into the community in a clear way."

She aims to better explain what Heartside does to more people in West Michigan and to engage more church volunteers and seminarians in the life of the ministry.

It is essential that the ministry form a bridge between its constituents and the rest of the community, and offer hope to both, she added.

"I'm here to change Grand Rapids," she said firmly. "Our mission statement talks about transformation, and we mean it. We want to change, transform and improve the circumstances of the people we serve.